The Actor's Life

A Survival Guide

By: Jenna Fischer

Narrated by: Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson

Jenna Fischer's Hollywood journey began at the age of 22 when she moved to Los Angeles from her hometown of St. Louis. With a theater degree in hand, she was determined, she was confident, she was ready to work hard. So, what could go wrong?

Uh, basically everything. The path to being a professional actor was so much more vast and competitive than she’d imagined. It would be eight long years before she landed her iconic role on The Office, nearly a decade of frustration, struggle, rejection, and doubt.

If only she’d had a handbook for the aspiring actor. Or, better yet, someone to show her the way—an established actor who could educate her about the business, manage her expectations, and reassure her in those moments of despair.

Jenna wants to be that person for you.

With amusing candor and wit, Fischer spells out the nuts and bolts of getting established in the profession, based on her own memorable and hilarious experiences. She tells you how to get the right headshot, what to look for in representation, and the importance of joining forces with other like-minded artists and creating your own work—invaluable advice personally acquired from her many years of struggle. She provides helpful hints on how to be gutsy and take risks, the tricks to good auditioning and callbacks, and how not to fall for certain scams (auditions in a guy’s apartment are probably not legit—or at least not for the kind of part you’re looking for!).

Her inspiring, helpful guidance feels like a trusted friend who’s made the journey, and has now returned to walk beside you, pointing out the pitfalls as you blaze your own path towards the life of a professional actor.

This title is narrated by a full cast. Narrators include: Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson, Natalie Zea, Sean Gunn, Derek Waters, Reed Birney, and Mark Proksch.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2017 Andycat Productions Inc. (P)2017 Novel Audio Inc.

great for anyone with a dream (acting or otherwise

I loved this book. As a Theatre kid I related to a lot of it but as an aspiring entrepreneur even more. I say anyone who has a dream or is trying something that isn't necessarily the normal path should read this book because there's so much important information. it's hilarious it made me cry it wasn't a long diatribe about her time on the office it was about all the things you need to know when chasing a dream

Must read

A friend told me about this book and being an inspiring actor, this book is amazing!!! Thanks for writing this and love love loved it

Jenna is amazing

Highly recommend to actors and industry professionals! It’s a fantastic and deeply honest book. I deeply appreciate her actually narrating herself.

Great Book For Actors!!

Loved this book. Such wonderful advice, encouragement and anecdotes. Fischer really does a great job of portraying the ups and downs and just the whole journey of being a working actor from the technical nitty gritty to the emotional. Definitely a book I will include on my reading list for my newbie friends! And the narration was wonderful. Made my car rides in LA traffic a delight. Which says everything. Thanks Jenna!

a must read

all aspiring, struggling or not struggling, actors starting out - read this! i could not recommend a book more.

Im no actor, yet i find this work amazing!

Ok, so im gonna make it simple. This is beyond insightful, even from the non actor standpoint, and further than that, its a passionate piece by piece of experiences about the struggles of the career. Its funny, sentimental, sad, disturbing. Like, i swear, this book has better drama and emotional punches than Divergent trash stuff, just to name something.

Best Book Ever

I plan on sharing this book with my students. Truly an inspirational book! I feel that I have learned so much myself.

Super insightful, even for the non-actor! 

I’m a non-actor but listen to this book. I think it’s a hidden gym, even for not actors. Specifically a great read for people following their dreams or passions. Good job Jena and team! 

Loved this book

Overall, loved the entire book! Highly recommend!! I think it was the perfect timing for me to hear so many things!

LOVE LOVE LOVE!

While I’m not an actor and don’t want to be, I learned SO much about persistence, passion, and fortitude from Jenna’s anecdotes and advice to actors.

She is a gem that worked incredibly hard and did not give up on her creativity and goals.

Jenna is extremely honest about her ups and downs and the mistakes she made. I was able to connect to her this way and feel empathy for other actors and people in creative positions.

Highly, HIGHLY recommend.